Our Floor Buffing Process

Floor buffing isn’t an overly complicated process, but without the proper methods and tools it won’t be done properly. To give you some insight on how we buff our customers floors we’ve written out our floor buffing process below.

Mark the area. Before you start buffing a floor, be sure to mark off the area where you will be buffing with a wet-floor sign and/or orange caution cones to prevent foot traffic. You do not want anyone to walk on the floor when it is wet and fall.

Clean the floor. Sweep up any dust or dirt with a broom or dust mop. Then, once properly swept, take a wet mop and mop the floor. You want as little dirt and dust on the floor as possible before beginning the buffing process.

Prepare the buffer. Check that the buffer has fresh pads and then plug in your buffer. You want to start at a point furthest from where you will exit once finished. This way, you don’t need to walk across the freshly-buffed floor when leaving.

Begin buffing. A good method of buffing is to move slowly but smoothly in 9- to 12-foot squares. Start at the baseboards and work inward.

BUFFING TIPS: To encourage a consistent floor buffing, try not to overlap passes with the buffer more than 1-2 inches. It’s better to overlap than not, but if there is too much overlap it will be noticeable. Be sure to check the pads of the buffer as you move along, they can collect dust from the buffing process causing them to not work efficiently.

Clean Up. Part of our floor buffing process is to sweep away any dust left after from the buffing process. Then, we always mop the floor one last time. Not only does this ensure the floor is perfectly clean, it allows the opportunity to take a good look at the floor to check for any areas which need further floor buffing.

Clear Out. At this point, the floor buffing is over and we will pack up shop and clear out. First, remove all tools from the area, and clean them off. Then, return to the newly buffed floor and check that the floor is dry. If the floor is totally dry, remove the caution signs; if you’re not sure if the totally floor is dry then wait. It’s better to be safe than sorry.